This very attractively finished typographic memory game includes 25 variations of the letter ‘A’, each in a different letter type. Players attempt to find the matching A’s in the same letter type. The player who has the highest number of matching letters wins the game. Typographic information about the letter is included on the card, and a separate folder provides a general history of the typography. This is an enjoyable and instructive game for graphic designers and anyone who is fascinated by letter types. As you play, you increasingly recognize what are often very subtle differences between the letters and more about the details of the letter types. They become progressively easier to recognize and distinguish from one another (even Univers and Helvetica!)

Among the letter types included in the game are Akzidenz Grotesk, Baskerville, Centaur, Garamond, Helvetica Rockwell, Times New Roman, Univers and many more. The game was assembled and designed by the Brazilian design studio, ps.2 arquitetura + design.

The Brand Memory Gameis another addition to the successful BIS memory games series, a new game about the knowledge of brands. For this game, Hendrik-Jan Grievink has made a selection of 30 internationally well-known brands, showing neither logo nor name on the images of the matching pairs. The challenge is to find matching pairs of a brand, based solely on their characteristic colors and style elements and a short description of the brand.

Playing this game is great fun and offers an excellent test of your brand knowledge. Hendrik-Jan Grievink is also one of the creators of the Fake for Real Memory Game, which has already gone into its fifth edition.

Jewelry designer Wendy Mahr has a small sampling of real edible jewelry amongst her other gemstone jewelry offerings. Real chocolate covered malted milk balls are decorated with real edible gold leaf and turned into a ring, a pair of earrings and three different necklaces. The yummy gems are paired with non-edible findings such as wire, cord and chain. And what's really neat is that once you've eaten the chocolate, if you want to reuse/recycle what's left after the chocolate’s gone, you can send it back and for prices from $25-$45 (depending upon the piece) +shipping and they'll replace the chocolate with pearls, or other available stones for you.

Golden Chocolate Ring:

Everything is edible except for the wire and if you hold out and keep it safely tucked away, you can be the hit of the party several times.
For an additional $25+shipping, Wendy Mahr can reuse/recycle the wire into a new ring.
Price: $55

The children's version of their Pretty Chocolate necklace.
Order them in bunches for party favors, but don’t eat the cord - it’s the only non-edible part.
Price: $30

Center of Attention Chocolate Necklace:

Gold filled wire and clasp and edible gold leaf make for a great malted milk ball fashion accessory.
Is it real? Yes. Will it melt? No, at least not when they were tested in the sweltering Miami heat. They smell great, look really pretty, and you can wear it several times, or until you eat them. (Please don’t eat the wire).
If you want to reuse/recycle after the chocolate’s days are over, you can send it back and for $45+shipping, they’ll replace the chocolate with pearls, or other available stones.
Price: $150

Packaging:

Ready for gift-giving, their edible earrings, ring or single necklaces come in this clear gift box finished with shimmering gold ribbon. Cost of box is included in shipping charges. Available for all edible jewelry items, except the 9-ball necklace which comes in a white wendy mahr jewelry box (not shown).

The 27 year old Italian visual artist who is also known by the name of her site, Himitsuhana, only recently became interested in photography after a 2007 trip to Japan. A self-proclaimed "lover of photoshop," Chiara transforms her photographs into surreal, ethereal portraits. The sensual and spiritual imagery is full of romance and mystery. In many instances, the photographs look like paintings and several are self-portraits. While her images are reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and photography, they have an edge, contemporizing them.

Chiara says her work is more than just a passion for photography and digital manipulation, but reveals her inner emotions and dreams, making them very personal. I'm only glad, she's willing to share them with us. Fiercely copyright protected, I received written permission from Chiara to share the images in this post with you.

About the artist:

"My aim is to portray every single glance of the human soul and encourage people to dream and never stop believing in dreams."-- Chiara Fersini

Chiara Fersini (b. 1986) took a degree in Foreign Languages, English and Japanese. Since she was a child she was surrounded by art. Her mother, a painter and decorator, handed down to her the love for beauty and encouraged her inclination for visual arts. Her interest for photography is very recent; it started out after a study journey in Japan in 2007 and grew faster and faster coinciding with a falling in love with Photoshop. But photography is not just a passion for Chiara, it is the best way to show that intricate world that she feels inside. She put into her works her fears, dreams, her sorrow and joy and seeing them happening into images is a manner to feel free.

After writing an article about corporate feudalism, writer, artist and photographer Steve Lovelace took it upon himself to map out, subjectively, each state within the US and the corresponding corporations he felt best represented that state and the inhabitants within.

The visuals above illustrate his hypothesis that "that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks."

Steve describes the project as follows:

"This is a map of “The Corporate States of America”. For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states.

My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I tried to use a brand that a) is based in that state and b) is still in business (as of 2012). I created this map after writing an article about corporate feudalism. My hypothesis is that, as corporations and non-governmental organizations grow in power, the power of nation states will become increasingly irrelevant. We’re already seeing this on a small scale, as people turn to the Internet to make friends, instead of befriending their neighbors. I think that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks.

One thing I discovered while writing this article is that corporations are not evenly distributed across the country. Some states, such New Mexico, Alaska, Montana and West Virginia, simply do not host many big corporations. Others host so many that choosing one was difficult. In these cases, I went with the company that I though best represented the state, rather than the biggest or most notorious. Hence, I used Dr Pepper for Texas instead of ExxonMobil."

Lauren Daley, a San Francisco Bay Area architect is the creator of my new wish list item, the House-Lamp. She started creating the House-Lamps to combine a couple of her greatest joys: making things with her own two hands and architectural design. After being successfully funded on Kickstarter, Daley is now selling three models of these hand-crafted, architecturally inspired luminaries.

Each House-Lamp is lovingly crafted by using a combination of high tech CNC and laser cutting machines and more traditional woodworking skills. Every component of the lamp is hand finished including the bases, wiring, and model. This creates an elegant and precise lamp with a lot of hand crafted charm.

The lamps have a standard bulb with a shade for tasks done at your desk, bedside reading, and everyday use. The houses are illuminated with an led bulb and are more decorative, acting as a perfect night light.

There are 3 main designs available and each is available with either a solid wood base or a plywood base with a natural finish:

The Eco Style House Lamp:

With laser etched photo voltaic panels that tilt towards the sun, louvered windows, and exposed beams, this house evokes a simple and environmentally aware lifestyle.

The Bungalow Style House Lamp:

With a welcoming front porch, a warm hearth, and quaint windows, this is a cozy house. One could envision this in the rustic woods or sited on a tree-lined street.

The Modern Style House Lamp:

In the office or at home, this lamp shines. Sleek with character, clean, and contemporary. This house glows at two levels with its laser etched outdoor balcony.

Each design can come as a combination illuminated house + task lamp, or just a stand alone illuminated house.

Sizes:
Each House-Lamp is approximately 18” tall, 14” long, and 7-1/4” wide. The sizes of each house model varies with the design style, averaging about 5-1/2” tall, 8-1/2” long, and 5-1/2” wide. The shades measure 9" in diameter. Because the lamps are hand made, slight dimensional variations occur.

Just The Houses
If you just want a beautiful illuminated house, without the desk lamp and shade, then you will want to check out the lamps that are simply the architectural models. The three house styles come without the task lamp as an option:

These three houses can be made on either the stained, plain solid wood base or you can get them on the birch plywood base. The houses are lit with an LED bulb just like the House-Lamps shown above. The only difference is that you won’t have the task lamp and shade.